Thursday, March 27, 2014

I have to
admit I didn’t expect much when Craig Slass, Co-President of Rotor Clip, asked
me to join him for a test drive of the Tesla Model S electric car. I was
expecting to encounter a “work in progress,” a vehicle whose technology was promising
but not quite there.

I was in for
a surprise.

The exposed chassis
of the car on display in one of the two show rooms in New Jersey, The Mall at Short
Hills (the other is located at the Garden State Plaza Mall), was stark. There
was a cylindrical shaped motor that drives the rear wheels and a few assemblies
up front, but that’s it. The vast space between the front and back are for
batteries. Hood and trunk are storage spaces. It’s hard to believe this vehicle
could function with so few components.

Jacob Slass stands in front of a Tesla Model S chassis. Most of the space is devoted to the batteries.

Craig got
behind the wheel and after a brief orientation from Owner Advisor, Andrew Chae,
eased the car out of its mall parking space and into the traffic of nearby JFK Parkway.
I was sitting in the back seat with Craig’s son, Jacob. The car was stylish and comfortable with a lot of the
bells and whistles you’d expect to find in a new vehicle.

But it was
the handling and power that most impressed me. The acceleration was smooth and
quick, driving me into the seat like a plane about to take off. It was hard to believe
the car delivered that kind of power without relying on an internal combustion
engine.

We cruised
across Columbia Turnpike and into the nearby town of Livingston. Craig had no trouble
weaving in and out of traffic, passing at will (which is his way) calling on a
burst of speed now and then that was worthy of any luxury car on today’s
market.

When we
returned, Craig sat down with Andy and reviewed the cars options including colors,
sun roof, interior materials as well as other stats. These included: 236
miles on a single charge; three hours of charging time for every 100 miles from
your home charger; or, 20-30 minutes for a full charge at a charging station.
(It doesn’t cost you a cent—that seemed impressive).

The batteries
will last about 8-10 years; you can choose to replace them at that time which would
run about $10,000.

Our test
drive was on the heels of New Jersey’s ruling barring Tesla from selling its
cars direct to consumers through its two mall locations. New Jersey Governor,
Chris Christie, said the fault lies with the State Legislature, “…which says if
you want to sell cars in this state, you must go through an authorized dealer.”

Regardless of
who is to blame, Tesla must cease selling cars directly to consumers as of
April 1.

Sales of the
battery-powered vehicle, priced from about $70,000, totaled at least 22,450
last year, based on figures previously released by Palo Alto, California-based
Tesla. According to the company, this exceeded its sales target of 21,500. (www.Bloomberg.com, January 15, 2014).

Right now, it’s
only a small part of the transportation puzzle, but one that’s expected to
grow. As Craig Slass noted, “Tesla is the future and we have to support them.”

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

It's been a year and by now, you might have read about University of Engineering and Technology in Peru researchers' innovative way of combining marketing with true engineering genius in their Lima-based billboard that pulls water from thin air.

Peru has always suffered from a lack of moisture, making it at risk for drought conditions. But its water conditions have worsened. As this article from Time states:

"Because it sits along the southern Pacific Ocean, the humidity in the city averages 83% (it’s actually closer to 100% in the mornings). But Lima is also part of what’s called a coastal desert: It lies at the northern edge of the Atacama, the driest desert in the world, meaning the city sees perhaps half an inch of precipitation annually (Lima is the second largest desert city in the world after Cairo)."

The city relies on water that trickles down from the Andes, specifically glacier water. However, with the effects of global warming, this water source evaporates faster and faster as years go by, eroding the supply for the fifth-largest city in the Americas.

A quick diagram of how the Billboard works.

The Lima Billboard, therefore, isn't just some marketing ploy that can draw foreign investment for the school's engineering department. It may serve as a way for all cities to adapt to what is clearly going to be shifting weather patterns that will destabilize current societal infrastructure. While those in the eastern regions of the US may scoff at the notion of moisture being scant, the western part of the country sees its real damage in the agricultural industry, the desertification of the Southwest states, and the ongoing coastal drought. Traditional irrigation methods may not be as useful nor reliable as they once were, and the increasingly more difficult need to keep water in massive urban centers is becoming evident as one of the primary concerns of the 21st century. Here's hoping in another year, every major city in the Western US has a billboard such as this.